R.I.P.: Clarke Ingram, Veteran PA-Based Programmer

Clarke Ingram (1956-2023)

Iconic Veteran Programmer Clarke Ingram passed away Saturday at the age of 66. He had been battling multiple health issues for several years.

A Pittsburgh native, Ingram was a renowned program director in top-40 radio including stints at WXKX 96.1 during it’s 96KX days and WBZZ (93.7) when it was B-94. During his days at 96KX he would drive back and forth between Pittsburgh and Central PA working for some smaller market outfits.

He was a master at the microphone in addition to his programming duties. Outside of Pittsburgh he worked at WHTZ (“Z-100) in New York City, KZZP in Phoenix, Arizona, and WPXZ in Rochester, New York.

In 2013, Ingram returned to radio as consultant to Pittsburgh-area station WZUM, for which he developed an urban oldies format. Three years later, the station was sold and changed to a jazz format. In 2019, Ingram announced that "whatever time (he had) left on this earth" would be largely devoted to television history and preservation. With assistance from fellow historian and preservationist Sean Cogan, he launched a YouTube channel called "Free The Kinescopes", which features rarely seen TV shows, including many from Ingram's collection.

Ingram won radio industry "Program Director of the Year" awards three times, twice from the Gavin Seminar for Media Professionals, and once from the Bobby Poe Pop Music Survey.